Tottenham fans attacked in Lyon
Thursday 21 February 2013
Three people were taken to hospital after a masked group allegedly attacked Tottenham Hotspur supporters in Lyon ahead of the Europa League meeting between the sides on Thursday, the Daily Mail has reported.
Objects including iron stools and heavy weights, as well as a lit flare, were thrown through the window of the Smoking Dog pub, with one eye witness telling the Mail the attackers made Nazi salutes.
The eye witness said: “There were 50 people in the first wave and 25 in the second. It's a pretty scary thing when you're confronted by people doing Nazi salutes…It was terrifying. I've never seen anything like it.”
Tottenham supporters were also targeted during an away trip to Rome to play Lazio in the earlier rounds of the competition. One man was stabbed during the attack in Italy in September.
The owner of the Smoking Dog, Dave Eales, said: “At 10.18 the pub was rammed with Tottenham fans watching the Champions League. The front of the pub, which is made up of re-inforced glass, was attacked by 20 to 25 people. They threw projectiles through the windows. They threw terrace chairs, objects... anything they could have got their hands on…then they came back a second time and it all started again.”
He added that he had informed the local police of the potential for trouble due to Tottenham’s perceived Jewish heritage, which has in the past made the club’s supporters targets of anti-Semitic abuse and violence.
Other people present at the time of the attack estimate there were 150 Spurs fans in the bar at the time, and that the attacks were not related to football but rather a pre-meditated assault.
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